Jon Stewart Will Return to TV for the Republican Convention

Jon Stewart will be returning to airwaves next week to help Stephen Colbert with special coverage for the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio.

Vulture reports: 

The former host of The Daily Showwill appear on Colbert’s CBS 11:35 p.m. program [starting Monday] to help kick off two weeks of live editions timed to the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, Vulture has learned exclusively. Exactly what he’ll be doing Monday remains a mystery, at least to prying reporters.

PREVIOUSLY: Jon Stewart Crashes Colbert’s Show, Becomes Donald Trump – WATCH

There’s no word yet how extensive of a role Stewart will play in Colbert’s coverage of the RNC. The presumption is he will be in Cleveland for the convention, though that hasn’t been confirmed either.

CNN Money adds: 

Having Stewart is a bonus for Colbert, who kicks off two weeks of live late night broadcasts from New York’s Ed Sullivan Theater during the Republican and Democratic national conventions. […]

Doing live shows allow Colbert and his staff to comment on the day’s events at the convention rather than waiting until the next day. Colbert usually tapes “The Late Show” in the late afternoon during the week.

This will not be the first time Stewart has graced “The Late Show” with Colbert.

Stewart helped Colbert open the first night in September and in December with a Trump wig. Stewart is also an executive producer on the show.

The post Jon Stewart Will Return to TV for the Republican Convention appeared first on Towleroad.

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GLAAD summer tour continues at change-making bakery, events with local advocates

www.glaad.org/blog/glaad-summer-tour-continues-change-making-bakery-events-local-advocates

Trump Penetrates Mike Pence’s P-Hole in New Logo

Donald Trump’s campaign unveiled its new official logo now that anti-LGBT Indiana Governor Mike Pence has been added to the ticket. And it’s oddly sexual.

To be blunt, the logo appears as if Trump’s “T” is penetrating the hole in Pence’s “P.”

Politico describes it in more tame terms: 

An email sent by the presumptive Republican nominee’s Make America Great Again Committee, the joint fundraising committee between the campaign and the Republican National Committee, features the new insignia: An interlocking blue T and P (for Trump and Pence), with the T going through the white space in the P. To the left are four red stripes and three white stripes, imitating the American flag

Below the logo is Trump’s name, in its usual font and blue color, and Pence’s name below in slightly smaller type, and in red.

Twitter quickly took to mercilessly mocking the logo after it was released.

What is the T doing to that P? t.co/tDvYm2QJYi

— John Dingell (@JohnDingell) July 15, 2016

who knew two letters could look so suggestive t.co/cXcv7RMsne

— Adam ⚡️ Sneed (@atsneed) July 15, 2016

or something@JuddLegum pic.twitter.com/0AJJDFqiSp

— darth™ (@darth) July 15, 2016

Michael Deppisch, who created President Obama’s 2008 campaign logo, tweeted this:

.@realDonaldTrump This took me 5 minutes. Your graphic designers are somehow more incompetent than you. pic.twitter.com/7inPMN4iUF

— Michael Deppisch (@deppisch) July 15, 2016

Others pointed out that Trump’s new logo managed to actually be worse than Hillary Clinton’s campaign logo, which was also derided after it was unveiled last year.

Difficult to do worse than an H with an arrow sticking out of it, and yet here we are. pic.twitter.com/yrABfBf80I

— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) July 15, 2016

Some were generous in their description of the logo.

New Trump logo features Pence’s initial giving Trump’s initial a hug pic.twitter.com/wHu57GYVyX

— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) July 15, 2016

The new logo began to trend in Twitter’s “Moments” on Friday.

Someone actually designed this logo, with a shaft penetrating a p-hole pic.twitter.com/iFZ5sRkoI1

— Dana Schwartz (@DanaSchwartzzz) July 15, 2016

Breaking the mattress of America. pic.twitter.com/M4Cq62YS2c

— Full Frontal (@FullFrontalSamB) July 15, 2016

The Trump/Pence logo should be pixellated at the point where the T penetrates the P’s hole pic.twitter.com/WxUedIB42A

— Erin Gloria Ryan (@morninggloria) July 15, 2016

t.co/h2Ui0f0YY6 pic.twitter.com/VXX44UGiGd

— Anthony De Rosa (@AntDeRosa) July 15, 2016

When you turn the Trump/Pence logo upside down, it literally looks like a handjob pic.twitter.com/4OLMD5H0sc

— Erin Gloria Ryan (@morninggloria) July 15, 2016

Husband looks over my shoulder, sees Trump/Pence logo. Him: “That’s not real, is it?” Me: “Yup!” Him: “It’s cute Trump thinks he’s a top.”

— Adam B. Vary (@adambvary) July 15, 2016

In about 9 months from today, the #TrumpPence logo will welcome a baby logo

— Brian (@Principat0) July 15, 2016

“What does the Trump/Pence logo look like?”

Me: pic.twitter.com/ikQRBIanbp

— Pokémanu (@ManuclearBomb) July 15, 2016

I’m not a designer but kinda seems like the VERY FIRST TEST for a logo is “does this look like sex stuff y/n”

— Emmy Bengtson (@EmmyA2) July 15, 2016

The post Trump Penetrates Mike Pence’s P-Hole in New Logo appeared first on Towleroad.

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Cancer-Fighting Immunotherapy Shows Promise as HIV Treatment: STUDY

In a study published Monday in the Journal of Virology, researchers from the UCLA AIDS Institute and from the Center for AIDS Research found that a a type of immunotherapy that uses artificially-created immune T-cells to fight cancer cells may also help the body to kill cells infected with HIV-1.

These artificially-created cells, known as chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) are designed to target and kill specific cells containing viruses or tumor proteins.

Scientists tried this approach for HIV-1 infection in the late 1990s, but the study was “abandoned for a lack of efficacy.”

They’ve now decided to give the idea another try because of seven recently-discovered “broadly neutralizing antibodies” (BNAs) that have the ability to bind multiple strains of invading viruses, unlike earlier isolated antibodies that tend to bind few strains.

“We took new generation antibodies and engineered them as artificial T-cell receptors, to reprogram killer T cells to kill HIV-infected cells,” said Dr. Otto Yang, professor of medicine at UCLA and the study’s correspondent author.

“Others have used antibodies against cancer antigens to make artificial T-cell receptors against cancer and shown this to be helpful in cancer treatment.”

In a UCLA press release the researchers announced that all seven BNAs had varying degrees of ability to direct killer T cells to proliferate, kill and suppress viral replication in response to HIV-infected cells.

Dr. Young is cautious, but optimistic: “what works in a test tube doesn’t necessarily work in a person,” he said, but the results are promising.

“These findings indicated that BNAbs are excellent candidates for developing novel CARs to consider for the immunotherapeutic treatment of HIV-1,” the study concluded.

Photo credit: wikicommons/NIAID

The post Cancer-Fighting Immunotherapy Shows Promise as HIV Treatment: STUDY appeared first on Towleroad.

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J.J. Abrams Calls George Takei’s Reaction to Gay Sulu ‘Preposterous’

Star Trek director and producer J.J. Abrams says it’s “preposterous” that George Takei was displeased that the character Sulu, whom he originated, will be revealed to be gay in the new film Star Trek Beyond.

Takei turned heads with his disapproval of John Cho’s Sulu being gay during an interview earlier this month, saying,

“I’m delighted that there’s a gay character. Unfortunately, it’s a twisting of Gene [Roddenberry]’s creation, to which he put in so much thought. I think it’s really unfortunate.”

Star Trek star and writer Simon Pegg then chimed in to “respectfully disagree” with Takei’s take. Roddenberry’s son, however, seemed to understand some of Takei’s frustration while also expressing support for the addition of an LGBT character to the Star Trek universe.

RELATED: George Takei Sets the Record Straight on ‘Gay Sulu’ Remarks and Why He’s Being a ‘Sourpuss’

This week, Takei took to Facebook to address the controversy, saying that media coverage of his original comments has been misleading. He also insisted that he was not disappointed that Star Trek added a gay character but rather that they made a previously straight character (which he played) into a gay character.

Now, J.J. Abrams is speaking out and taking issue with Takei’s comments though adding that he had the utmost respect for Takei himself. Said, Abrams, “It’s about time that there’s a gay character in this universe.”

Via The Huffington Post:

“It is done, as you saw, in a way that is not in the story of the movie, which is one of my favorite things about it. It’s beside the point. I feel that George Takei’s reaction ― I’m sure has more to do with George Takei, and the baggage he brings to the proceedings. I think it may be his perception of having played a character a certain way. It might mean something personally to him. I have nothing but respect for the man, but I think it’s a preposterous thing for, of all people, a ‘Star Trek’ actor — who’s come out himself — to say that Gene Roddenberry wouldn’t have wanted this.”

Abrams, in fact, believed the “Star Trek” creator would have applauded the decision over Sulu. 

“One of the many things I admire about [Roddenberry] was … how he was so about inclusivity, and I can’t imagine that he would not have wanted one of these characters, if he had been allowed ― which, of course, he would never have been allowed to in that era ― [to] have them be gay.”

Abrams continued, “It feels like that is classic Roddenberry, so I don’t know what or why George Takei would take issue with it. I understand he’s backtracked a little bit. But I love the way [writers] Simon Pegg, Doug Jung and [director] Justin Lin did it. Doug Jung, who’s the co-writer, actually plays the husband of Sulu. I think it’s something I’m really proud of.”

[Top photo via Wikimedia commons]

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Hate Groups Attack Target’s Transgender Policy Without All The Details

Those eager to attack Target’s policies are getting a lot of details wrong about a reason transgender woman arrested for voyeurism.

The post Hate Groups Attack Target’s Transgender Policy Without All The Details appeared first on ThinkProgress.

thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2016/07/15/3798834/target-transgender-voyeurism-incident/

Twitter Reacts to Mike Pence's Antigay Ways, Campaign's Phallic Logo

Twitter users reacted to Donald Trump’s announcement of his running mate by pointing out Mike Pence’s anti-LGBT record and having a little fun with the campaign’s logo.

www.advocate.com/election/2016/7/15/twitter-reacts-mike-pences-antigay-ways-campaigns-phallic-logo

Rachel Maddow: Mike Pence 'Choked' Under National Spotlight (Video)

Maddow recalls the moment that Pence froze while live on national television.

www.advocate.com/election/2016/7/15/rachel-maddow-mike-pence-choked-under-national-spotlight-video

FBI: Pulse Wasn't Targeted for Being a Gay Club

The gunman who killed 49 people at a gay club didn’t hate gay people, according to investigators. 

www.advocate.com/crime/2016/7/15/fbi-pulse-wasnt-targeted-being-gay-club